Source: www.positiveattitudematters.com
In medical school, presenting cases, giving presentations and talking in front a group of people is such a norm to a point that the skills and the art of public speaking should be second nature to medical students. Yet, have you ever you,nd yourself struggling when you want to talk in front of a group of people i.e – peers, lecturers, specialists, consultants etc? Your palms are sweaty, your breathing gets heavy and you start having palpitations. You have everything prepared in your script but you still stutter and your mind goes blank whenever anyone questions you?
Have no fear for public speaking is not a skill that you have to be born with, it is something that you can acquire through persistent practice. The ability to mask your nervousness is also a skill that you will need to practice. Performers, either comedians or singers, were not born overnight. They did a lot of practice in order to perform. The same way how you always practice your physical examination skills on patients, you must practice speaking in public. If you are unsure where or how to start, just follow these few handy tips :
Prepare your script
A script is important so that when you are presenting you can refer to your script in case you have forgotten certain things. How should you prepare you your script?
Certainly not by making a long essay! You can have it in point form or in diagrams – whatever you are comfortable with as long as it is easy for you to refer to it from time to time. Why is making an essay bad? When you are nervous presenting a case and someone asked you a question, and you do not remember the right answer, it will be hard for you to scan through those paragraphs of words searching for it.. Hence, you will start to panic and blank out. Blanking out will cause you to have poor performance.
Another benefit of having your notes in point form is that, it will help you to deliver the verbal message in a short and concise manner rather than beating around the bush. Stephen Keague once said, ‘In presentations or speeches less really is more’. It also keeps your mind clear and focused on the information you want to convey.
At first you will probably need to write down the things that you need to say, but with constant practice, you will have a mental form of script in your mind. The same can be applied for history and physical examination presentation. For example, at first you might have to write down and memorize what are the clinical signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis on hand examination, then when you have already memorized the clinical signs, it is easier for you to appreciate and describe the findings on physical examination and presenting you findings. It is alright if you tend to forget certain things, with practice it will come to you.
Practice in front of a mirror
As funny as this might sound like but practicing in front of the mirror has been an old technique used by countless of individuals. You can start out by presenting your script in front of the mirror. This is so that you can see your own body gestures and see what you would do when you are nervous. People do a lot of weird things when they are nervous, they bite their nail, clicking their pens continuously or even play with their hair. If you are presenting a case during ward rounds you would not want to be clicking away with your pen while presenting. Not only it irritates your listeners but it makes you seem unprofessional.
Present in front of you peers
One of the ways to overcome nervousness is to be familiarized with the situation of presenting in public. Before you go to a larger crowd of people, try practicing in front of your friends. You will feel shy and get all nervous, but you will also learn how to control and channel your nervousness. You can also get constructive feedback from your friends. Try to improve yourself from the feedbacks you receive. When you are used to presenting to a group of people, it will be slightly easier for you to present during ward rounds and during examinations as you are already prepared and used to the situation of being nervous. Imagine how nerve wrecking it would be if you have never practiced presenting in front of your peers before and during your final semester clinical examination, where you are expected to present your case and it is your first time of ever presenting a case.
In the words of Chris Bradford, “Tomorrow’s victory is today’s practice.” So, do not feel disheartened by the amount of practice you will probably have to endure, the point is that you keep going and with the willingness to learn and correct your mistakes, you will eventually get there.
Ayesyah Abdullah is fourth year medical student in University Kebangsaan Malaysia. Learn more about the Young Columnists and what inspires them to be part of this program under The Team page.
Reference:
- http://www.toastmasters.org/mainmenucategories/freeresources/needhelpgivingaspeech/tipstechniques/10tipsforpublicspeaking.aspx